Flyers players taking the blame for Laviolette's firing (with video)

Peter Laviolette at the Wells Fargo Center during training camp in September. He was fired as head coach of the Flyers on Monday morning. (Times staff / ERIC HARTLINE)

VOORHEES, N.J. — When Peter Laviolette took over an allegedly talented but barely better than .500 Flyers team 25 games into the 2009-10 season, he wasted little time in installing a new system, working out the kinks and even cementing a few relationships with players en route to a Stanley Cup finals run.

Laviolette largely kept his close relationship with those players hidden behind an all-business demeanor. But Tuesday, the day after he was fired as head coach and replaced by assistant Craig Berube, the relationships Laviolette established became fully revealed.

“It was a tough day yesterday,” team captain Claude Giroux said after the morning practice at the Skate Zone. “We’ve been coached by Lavy for a while and to see him leave, it’s kind of sad. But it’s the business part of it and we need to understand that.

“We’re the ones on the ice; we need to do the job and obviously we didn’t get the job done. So we need to play more as a team on the ice. There’s no doubt that off the ice we’re a team and we like each other. We just need to show it on the ice.”

One player who likely feels the loss of Laviolette is Scott Hartnell, who clearly became a better player under Laviolette’s tutelage.

“Obviously you don’t want to see a good guy like Lavy go,” Hartnell said. “Ever since he got here a few years ago, he got the guys going; he got them refocused the year we made the Cup run. He made me a better player on the ice and a better guy off the ice, too.

“We’re going to miss Lavy. In this game, it’s hard sometimes to accept what’s going on, but moving forward (Berube’s) got a lot of respect from the guys in the dressing room. He’s played before and especially the way he played he deserves respect.”

No matter who the coach is, of course, the only way the Flyers will earn respect is if their better players start looking like themselves on the ice.

“A lot of the onus should be on the players,” Hartnell said. “The preseason was bad ... our scorers weren’t scoring. It’s unfortunate someone has to take the fall, but you have to look in the mirror and realize that a big part of it was us.

“It was a wake-up call,” Hartnell added. “This morning I woke up and it kind of sunk in that I’m going to go in and have a half-hour of meetings (for) a new system, a new coach, a new everything. It’s sad, obviously, but it’s exciting, too, to go forward.”

How quickly Berube incorporates a more defensive-based system than the attack-attack-attack blueprinting that Laviolette favored (and the Flyers had stopped playing long ago) will go a long way toward determining how quickly he can right the team.

Berube acknowledged the new system would have to be put in place essentially in bits and pieces.

“You tinker with things along the way and get it done,” Berube said. “That’s probably the best way to put it. But we are going to make changes. ... I believe we’ll become a good team at some point.”

The system instruction started with the Tuesday skate, but should really kick in during practices Wednesday and Thursday.

“It’s going to be a process to make sure we’re on the same page,” Giroux said. “It’s play without the puck. Being in good position, knowing where you have to be and supporting your teammates, basically. I think we’re playing as individuals right now and you don’t win like that. We need the whole team to be on the same page and work together. ... When one guy has the puck the other guy’s not working to get open for him. That’s something as players we need to change and it will change.”

NOTES: Giroux was asked about a report Monday that Laviolette “wasn’t on the same page” as some of the players. “I don’t think so,” Giroux said. “Everybody loved Lavy. He was close to the players, he was close with me, especially.” ... Berube made changes on the blue line and shuffled the forward lines as well. But the healthy scratch guys have largely been the same, including offensive defenseman Erik Gustafsson, who hasn’t played through the first four games.

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About the Author

Rob Parent is the Daily Times sports editor. He also covers the Flyers as well as writing an occasional column. Reach the author at rparent@delcotimes.com
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